


It's Up To The Woman

by WhenIFindLoveAgain



Series: And God Created Woman [4]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, British Comedy, Comedy, Comedy RPF, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Fanfiction Comedy (MICF), Fashion & Couture, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Funny, Hotels, Humor, Inappropriate Humor, Kissing, Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, Midsummer, Multi, No Sex, No Smut, Party, Partying, Religious Humor, Romantic Comedy, Runway Magazine, Sexual Humor, Song: Blinding Lights (The Weeknd), Trans Character, Trans Yoon Jeonghan, Unrequited Love, Welsh Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26560087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenIFindLoveAgain/pseuds/WhenIFindLoveAgain
Summary: The boys are back and it's a disaster as Joshua admits that he's always been in love with Jeonghan and it's essentially why they've always had the aura of a married couple because it essentially edges on that, but, difficulty grows as one of the magazine office personal and mates that he's been in love with Jeonghan for ages as well. Between heritage-listed properties, love confessions, love triangles, right-royal spats, possible break ins, Victorian security methods, fabulous wardrobes, expensive hotels, a romp in the countryside, and ruining the £500,000 a year funding for their magazine, what else could make your day other than this?
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Chwe Hansol | Vernon/Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Yoon Jeonghan, Kim Mingyu/Yoon Jeonghan, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Yoon Jeonghan, Lee Seokmin | DK/Original Female Character(s), Lee Seokmin | DK/Yoon Jeonghan, Xu Ming Hao | The8/Yoon Jeonghan, Yoon Jeonghan/Original Female Character(s), Yoon Jeonghan/Original Male Character(s)
Series: And God Created Woman [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931602
Comments: 15
Kudos: 5





	It's Up To The Woman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bbyhannie_1004](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbyhannie_1004/gifts).



> May I introduce this mammoth-sized short story for the very lovely and very precious @bbyhannie_1004 !!! Cue the bells if England, I finally managed to write this! Lately I've been naming these works - those if which I've written for you are now all added in order to a nice little series dedicated in your honour bbyhannie_1004 - after Tom Jones songs, and, I think this song title is particularly good for the work as we soon shall see :) I do hope you enjoy thus, my love (As your most likely to be American by your previous use of y'all, don't get alarmed, it's just how Brits talk) and, well dive right in! Oh, I should also add that even though this work is named after a Tom Jones song, I primarily listened to either PLEASE BE NAKED by The 1975 or a slowed down version of FALLIN' FLOWER by SEVENTEEN by @ASTROPJMS specifically on YouTube, so, they are fairly nice songs and soundtracks to listen to while reading this work :)

Jeonghan rang Joshua from his work. "Joshua, could you do a favour for us?" He asked sweetly.

"What?" Joshua said strictly, knowing Jeonghan as well as himself. Especially when he was schemeing.

"We need, like, a really pretty guy to wear Mulberry and eat - well, sort of eat - tea-rose petals." Jeonghan raised his eyebrows, hoping Joshua could answer him quickly.

But he was met with dead silence.

"Shua?" Jeonghan asked, wondering if he was still there.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Joshua said.

"No." Jeonghan answered. "It's for a photoshoot, for the magazine."

"Don't you lot have all the access to all the models in the world?" Joshua remarked.

"Yeah, but none of them look like you, my love." Jeonghan smiled, hoping he had sincere kindness oozing in his tone as much as he thought he did.

Joshua didn't say anything.

"And is it alright to do it in the house?" Jeonghan checked.

That made Joshua speak. "Whose house?"

"Our house." Jeonghan said.

"Why our house?" Joshua questioned, and, Jeonghan knew he was going to say about Minghao's.

"Because Minghao's sold his house and he's still having to wait for settlement for the four-acre prysbetry he bought." Jeonghan explained calmly. 

Joshua sighed. "It'll have to be tonight when I'm home from work." He gave in, and, he sounded none too pleased about it.

"No, we need morning." Jeonghan shook his head. "Like, morning now?" He hung out for an answer that deep down he knew he wouldn't get.

"It's saturday tomorrow, we'll do it then." Joshua told him.

"Ok -" Jeonghan barely got to say.

"Wait, no, Sunday." Joshua changed his mind.

Jeonghan sighed. "Alright." He gave in. As he and Joshua's conversation went on, Jeonghan gazed at the three dark pink peonies with the soft pink tips that he had found in a old but pretty cream jug on his desk that morning. They were from Henreich Greinhart, the German, who had given their magazine £500,000, and, would continue to sponsor it for the next five years at least.

"Be happy I'll do it." Joshua commented. "Because it's not just a photo. It's me looking like a prat eating a flower in British designerware in our own house on a magazine that sells 500,000 copies a month." Suddenly, Joshua went silent. "You know who'd be good for this?" He said.

"Who?" Jeonghan blinked.

"Mimi. The Welsh one." Joshua responded. "Why didn't you think of her?"

"Probably because I'm used to asking you for help and you giving help and you'd look very nice in Mulberry." Jeonghan murmured.

Joshua laughed softly at Jeonghan's reaction to being well and truly top-trumped. "Look, if the Taffy decides she won't do it, you can try and wear me down, alright? See you later, love. Bye."

Fuck it, I can't believe he completely fucking thrashed me, Jeonghan thought as Joshua hung up.

Later that night, Jeonghan asked a question as he first came home, finding Joshua in his bedroom changing the bed linen.

"Is it still alright to shoot here in the house if it's just Mimi?" Jeonghan asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Yeah, sure, no worries." Joshua nodded. "I know she won't pinch anything."

Jeonghan scoffed and turned on his heel, Joshua's laugh following him as he went to the one of three bathrooms in their big old 1930's house, and, put the bath on to run. But, of course, the moment he slipped into it, Joshua opened the door and stuck his head in.

"AIYOH!" Jeonghan immediately exclaimed, bringing his knees up to his breasts and wrapping his arms around himself.

"What, were you masturbating?" Joshua commented with a grin.

"Fuck you!" Jeonghan vigoursely gave Joshua the v's, the middle and index fingers up on both hands, flushing darkly. "What do you want?"

"Mingyu and Wonwoo are downstairs." Joshua told him.

"Oh, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Jeonghan howled. "I just got in!!!" He gestured to the bath around him. 

"Well, have your bath, long as you want, Manchester is playing Liverpool on the telly so us blokes'll watch that." Joshua shut the bathroom door.

I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!!! Jeonghan thought, slipping underneath the surface of the water.

I love him, I love him, I love him, Jeonghan thought, somewhat sadly, as he wished he could just vanish, having the sudden desire to go swimming and swim in a single straight line for a very long time towards the horizon where the dark, dark blue sea and sky blurred together, only discernable by the stars and the moon illuminating white the night sky above.

On Sunday, Mimi had been able to do the photoshoot. 

She really was a pretty thing, Jeonghan thought as he lined up the camera of her smoking in the bathtub with a cover of lavender and light pink peonie blooms, covering her nudity, her breasts and other body covered. Mimi had on no make-up, but, she didn't need it. Her beautiful brown skin glowed and Mimi said it was because she had four oranges and a Welsh beer with flower stems in it as apart of the drink's recipe for breakfast each morning. Her black hair fell damply in curtains either side of her massive cheekbones, and, Jeonghan talked easy and familiar with her, having once done modeling for her dressmaking brand. "You don't call oranges oranges in Wales, do you?"

"Nah," She chuckled. "We call them orenau."

"Oh-rhen-eye?" Jeonghan checked.

"Orenau." Mimi crooned.

"When you girls speak Welsh it sounds beautiful but when the men speak it they sound deranged." Jeonghan commented. Mimi laughed.

"Could you turn onto your back, head on your forearms on the edge of the bath, eyes closed?" Jeonghan asked.

Mimi did so. 

"You are in love." She whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Jeonghan said, staring at her. Her dark Welsh eyes, upcurved and hooded, gazed at him intently. Jeonghan nearly shivered; that's another thing Welsh women did. They had this look in their eyes - not snake eyes, no psychosis - that, unless they were dead happy or dead angry, you can't ever figure out what's going on behind those eyes.

"I love ooh...I love oooh..." Mimi sung gently, hauntingly.

They were lyrics from a sad Welsh-language jazz song that Mimi was singing in English for Jeonghan's sake.

Jeonghan got over the fact and himself, asking Mimi if she could do that again while he filmed on the camera instead of photographing.

Later on after Mimi had gone - having done the tea rose photography in the Mulberry and then the bath photography that Jeonghan had thought up - Joshua had asked about the singing.

"Yeah, she sounds really nice, doesn't she?" Jeonghan agreed.

"Did she ever to singing back in Wales?" Joshua asked. "Sounds like she used to."

"Just tribal stuff, I think." Jeonghan put the kettle on. "You want one?" He reached up into the cupboards where the mugs were, looking over his shoulder. Joshua quickly ducked his head, shaking it. 

"No, I'm right, love." Joshua dimissed. Jeonghan was wearing a very pretty and very tight sundress that was the same colour as the tea-roses that he had had Mimi virtually tear apart with her teeth in their sun-room that morning. It had a gentle v-cut neck with spaghetti straps with a low back, and, even though it was eye-catching, it was still a day dress. He had his long silvery-grey hair in curtains either side of his face, and, Joshua was having a hard time not looking at him.

"Want to go outside?" Jeonghan asked as soon as his tea was made. "The sun's out and it's bright." He went up the hallway to the wide, winding staircase that took you down from the first wing of the house where most of their living was done directly to the laundry where you were then taken through the laundry door to the huge back garden. With their house divided into the two wings it was, on the second wing, apart from Jeonghan's bedroom and the bathroom that he mostly used, there was the spare room which was mostly unused, and, two other rooms that didn't have anything in them. There was acsess to the back garden via the sunroom at the end of Jeonghan's wing, but, it was easier to go down the stairs from the hallway that opened out onto the massive kitchen and dining room. People always complained about old houses, but only because they were ignorant and had the sophistication and intelligence of the microbes one found in animal shit. Jeonghan told this to Joshua who laughed a lot. Their house really was bloody gorgeous.

As Jeonghan went through the laundry he picked up on of the old bed blankets that neither of them used anymore, and, laid it out as a picnic rug on the freshly mown grass, Joshua having done that yesterday morning as Jeonghan was obliged to go around and see Henreich about the flowers he had gifted him.

"I'm glad you can't see any of the city or the fucking neighbours." Jeonghan commented happily to Joshua, the big old Scandinavian forest trees in their garden - Birch trees, Oak trees, Acorn trees, Elm trees - plus the masses of ancient jonquil, snowdrop and daffodil bulbs that bloomed every year - and weeping cherry trees made a very beautiful scenery for them to enjoy. 

"Did you have a fight with Minghao?"

"No, why'd you ask that?" Joshua looked at him, eyebrows raised slightly.

"Because the morning after the party Minghao left a note for me on the kitchen table at his old place and said that the reason there was a note and nto him because he had gone out so that when you woke up - whenever you did - he wasn't around for you to kill him over something."

Joshua shrugged. "Don't know about any of that, love."

"Sure you do." Jeonghan leant on one of his hands with the other hand in his lap and her legs curled to the side, heels by his bum, gazing at Joshua.

"Fuck off." Joshua said, picking up Jeonghan's mug and having a drink out of it, forgetting that he had declined a cup of tea and that that cup of tea was Jeonghan's.

"Oy, that's me fucking tea!" Jeonghan yelped.

Joshua hurriedly put down and tea and swallowed, so, as he burst out laughing, he didn't splutter it everywhere.

"You're duality, I swear..." Joshua chuckled, his eyes twinkling. 

"What about your duality?" Jeonghan said. "The duality where you lie to me."

Joshua took one, long, intent look at him before getting to his feet and going back inside. 

Jeonghan sighed, and laid down on the old blanket now new picnic rug, going to sleep in the weekend sunshine.

When the magazine was published a week later, Jeonghan's name and Mimi's photographs exploded.

Everyone wanted to know all about Mimi and everyone wanted to know who took the photographs. 

This led to a couple of days: on the day they found out, Jeonghan nearly fainted at his desk, and, as a result, Minghao had to revive him with a bottle of plonk and they worked their way through it in the coffee lounge with their laptops and phones open and open, Jeonghan looking pale and blushed in Minghao's lap. Jeonghan also decided to dye his hair black, give Soonyoung and Seokmin a pay rise after their beautiful marketing strategies on Instagram got them another six thousand followers with at least half of them becoming brand new suscribing customers. 

When he got home, Jeonghan raced to get out of the black sundress he had worn to work and into jeans and a black top and converse sneakers before yelling at Joshua to grab the car so they could go around to Mimi's dressmakers.

At that point in time, the Welsh dressmaker had no idea she was trending.

Jeonghan raced into her shop just in time to find her closing up; as the door had been pushed open in a hurry at nearly seven 'o' clock at night and she had no idea who it was, Mimi had two pairs of fabric shears - lethal looking solid metal things - in her hands, pointed trained and deadly in Jeonghan's direction. But, when she saw it was he and Joshua, she sighed and put down the shears. "Is the wedding happening yet?" She asked with a smile. Initally, it wasn't her words that were the biggest shock; she was dressed just in a floor-length black silk dressing gown with hair in a french knot and she looked like a living Goddess.

Jeonghan's jaw dropped. "NO!" He shouted. "Look, lovely, come here!" He grabbed her by her arm and dragged her over to where the serving counter and her registrar was. He quickly told her in hushed words.

"WOULD YOU DO MORE MODELING FOR US?!" Jeonghan suddenly, yelled, grabbing her hands and looking at her.

"YEAH, FUCK SAKE'S, WHY NOT?!" Mimi answered cheerfully.

"LOVE, YOU'RE A FUCKING LEGEND!" Jeonghan kissed Mimi on both cheeks.

"IE, CARIAD, DW I'N DDUWIES!" Mimi croonedly answered in Welsh, nuzzling up to him, her nose and forehead against this.

Meanwhile, poor Joshua was still by the shop doorway, and asbolutely aghast at the sight before him.

"BLOODY BRILLIANT!" Jeonghan announced as they went back to the car. Well, as it turned out, Joshua went back to his car. Apparently Jeonghan was staying the night with Mimi in her apartment built above her shop.

"What?!" Joshua stared at him, agog.

"It's fine!" Jeonghan kissed Joshua. "Goodnight, see you tomorrow." Joshua watched as Jeonghan went back up to the footpath and waved to him as he went through Mimi's shop doorway again. 

After Jeonghan came back inside, Mimi locked up the shop and closed the curtains in the show windows. She took Jeonghan upstairs to her apartment, and, she asked him if he was hungry. Jeonghan said he was fine, and, in turn, they started talking about work. They got themselves tucked up in the sitting room, and, Jeonghan knew it was a bit cheeky to ask but he knew Mimi fairly well.

"Could you dye my hair back to normal?" He asked. Mimi giggled. 

"What makes you think I have hair dye?" She said. "Native women don't dye their hair; why dye my hair blonde and look like a Kraut or dye my hair - say - pink and look like a twat? Besides, once you dye your hair that colour never quite comes back as it once naturally was. My Dadda would be so upset."

"Well, look, this really is cheeky." Jeonghan opened up his handbag, it having been sitting on the floor, and, Mimi cackled.

"Oh, alright then, you silly bugger." She got up from the couch in the sitting room, smoothing down her dressing gown around her thighs. "Let's do it then." Mimi said with a smile.

Soon after, Jeonghan was sitting cross-legged on a stool in Mimi's bathroom as she dyed his hair black for him. Her bathroom was a very nice bathroom with that was all white tiles but with a light pink bath-tub and splashback in the shower with the tiling around a bath showing occasional, decorated tiles that had roses on them. It was undoubtedly a girl's bathroom, but, Mimi said she was happy to have her shop and apartment for many years, so, it was quite alright for the time.

"Were you a hairdresser?" Jeonghan asked over Mimi's rather expertly skill.

"Oh, no way!" Mimi exclaimed. She ran a comb through his hair, making sure it was smooth, before seperating it into sections with beak-combs. "If you're a woman and a hairdresser in Wales it means you're a feckless tart that can't do anything intelligent so she does hair for a living." Mimi explained.

"That's not very nice." Jeonghan remarked.

"It's fucking honest." Mimi told him, completely un-fazed. "All hairdressers are dumb moles." Mimi's eyes went down to one of Jeonghan's wrists. "You wear that bracelet all the time." she remarked.

"Yeah." Jeonghan smiled down at it. "You like it?"

"Ie." Mimi hummed. "Now..." She kissed his cheek. "Let's get the job done, luvvy."

The next evening - Jeonghan getting a cab straight from Mimi's to work - when Joshua saw Jeonghan's hair, he, very un-helpfully, got a series of butterflies in his stomach.

Oh, he thought, as Jeonghan came inside in navy women's 1950's slim-line trousers with a tight-fitting boat-neck top with three-quart. sleeves, hair pinned up very prettily in a almost beehive look. His make-up looked nice as well, all natural except for the usual dark colour around his eyes. Joshua thought Jeonghan's skin seemed darker.

Or maybe it was just odd to him to have spent last night asleep in his house with Jeonghan but without Jeonghan for the first time in a very, very long time.

"Hello, love!" Jeonghan got his black high-heels off in his bedroom; Joshua mistook them for his, not a pair he borrowed from Mimi. 

"Mimi's alright?" Joshua asked, leaning against Jeonghan's bedroom doorway.

"Oh, smashing." Jeonghan grinned. Oh, Joshua thought again, feeling a bit queasy. "Soonyoung and Seokmin say that we're being flooded with attention, and, Vernon's run off his feet translating everything into English; the English version of the magazine has really hit off too, and, we're going to do a write-up on Mimi. Vernon says that over in Europe and the UK, as soon as there's news of a Welsh model making it big in this shithole we'll go to number one over there. The last interesting thing to come out of Wales was Catherine Zeta-Jones back in the 90's, and, Mimi's tons better looking than Catherine Zeta-Jones!"

"That's great." Joshua meant those words sincerely. "Want a cuppa?"

"Oh, do I ever!" Jeonghan chuckled, getting his laptop out of his bag and opening it up. "I'll take all this into the sitting room." He gestured around to his working materials. "Thanks so much, Joshuji." Jeonghan squeezed Joshua's hip gently as he went by, and, in return, Joshua poked Jeonghan in the bum.

"Oof, you cheeky bastard!" Jeonghan turned around and kicked Joshua in the shin. Joshua abruptly picked up the thin and delicately boned Jeonghan and put him over his shoulder, carrying him down the hallway and down the stairs as Jeonghan laughed breathlessly, his whole world upside down.

"About your bum, it looks quite nice right now." Joshua peered at it. Jeonghan slapped Joshua's backside.

"Careful, I'll bite you, you're right at my level." Jeonghan warned him. Joshua chuckled.

"You said something like that years ago." Joshua remarked.

"What?" Jeonghan listened up to him.

"When you first met Mingyu." Joshua reminded him. "Oh, wait, hey, actually, you know what you said? Word for word, right?" It all came back to Joshua, clear as a bell. ","Oh, bugger me, he's got a lovely round bum. Wouldn't mind taking a bite out of it actually."."

Jeonghan laughed. "Oh, yeah, remember saying that..."

The next day at work, Jeonghan got chatting with Minghao.

"You're delighted." Minghao said to him and then complimented Jeonghan on his hair going back to a pretty much normal state.

"Yeah, pretty happy." Jeonghan conceded, touching his hair absent-mindedly. "You doing anything?" He asked.

"No, why?" Minghao looked at him.

"Let's go out for lunch. I'll do my typing later tonight, have it posted and ready before it's too late. It's only a thousand or so words." Jeonghan answered.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in a cafe two blocks away. 

"That's new." Jeonghan said of Minghao's olive-green leather jacket. Minghao peered over his black-lensed, gold-framed Lennon glasses, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"You like it?" Minghao quipped.

"Mm." Jeonghan nodded. "White t-shirt goes well with it." He pointed at Minghao's chest. 

"Cheers." Minghao's hand ghost in touch over Jeonghan's as Jeonghan prodded him. Jeonghan was convinced by Minghao into having a coffee; he didn't love coffee, and, Minghao drank it like tar. Strong as hell, black, and no sugar.

Jeonghan had about four sugars in it.

And that barely took the edge off.

"What were you and Shua rowing about at the party?" Jeonghan asked, crossing his forearms over the other, elbows up on the table. "That note you left me?"

Minghao looked at him. "Uh...I think you should talk to -" He began, but, Jeonghan interrupted.

"Tried doing that but he just walked off." Jeonghan told him. 

Minghao looked a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden. "You're going to want to kill me." He quipped. Jeonghan looked at him and asked Minghao to just tell him.

"I only called her one time." Minghao said as though he was promising Jeonghan. "Maybe it was two times?" He came again, looking like he wanted to die.

"What are you on about?" Jeonghan remarked, his eyebrows going upwards.

Minghao swallowed. "Mimi Jones." He admitted.

Jeonghan's mouth dropped open. Oh, he thought. Oh shit. Fucking hell. "Does Soonyoung know?" He asked.

"No, this was before her and him started going out properly." Minghao waved a hand dismissevly, quickly gulping down some of his coffee.

"Fucking hell." Jeonghan said softly.

"Mimi's been helping me for the last couple of months with the house." Minghao sort of explained.

"What?" Jeonghan didn't understand.

"Why do you think it looks the way it does? It's had a Welsh pagan tribeswoman through it." Minghao said irritably.

Suddenly, it all came together for Jeonghan.

"She liked Soonyoung for ages but the man's a twat and had no idea." Minghao sighed heavily.

But, something clicked at Jeonghan.

"Where does Shua come into this?" He asked.

Minghao wouldn't talk anymore. As Jeonghan went up to pay for their coffee ten minutes later, Minghao texted both Mimi and Soonyoung on his phone.

Jeonghan still hasnt figured it out and I told him Lie A to get myself out of it, so, until he does figure out, yes, Mimi and I were together, Minghao said to Soonyoung and Mimi via text messages. Hopefully we don't have to do Lies B, C, D, F and G.

The next day, it was Seungcheol's turn to fuck things up, or, rather began by averting things to be fucked up.

Seungcheol organized a lunch date between Jeonghan and the German, Henreich Greinhart, so Mimi could come down to their warehouse studios and hit Minghao over the head with her handbag, and, then, all of them talk about how they were going to keep meddling and interfereing until business was done. And, a incredibly responsible business it was.

It had all started at that cursed bloody party.

"What's Hannie being up to recently?" Minghao had quipped to Joshua down in the dining room. Minghao had shooed away some guests so he and Joshua could have some plonk by the fireplace and Minghao could keep an eye that no stray sparks set the oriental carpets beneath the coffee table on fire. There was a tiny singe mark on a section of the rug, and, Minghao wanted to moniter it. "Anyone special?"

Joshua had laughed, crossing his legs so one of his ankles was on his other knee. . "Oh, God, if there was, trust me, I'd be the last to know." Joshua answered.

"How's that?" Minghao had asked.

"Most of Jeonghan's dates he either meets through work or he meets online. I think he's only had three dates in the last year and they were all didn't go well." Joshua explained.

"How?" Minghao frowned slightly.

"Oh, he ended up friends with them all." Joshua grinned. "Jeonghan considers that his curse; he always ends up as friends with anyone he'd like to get into bed with."

Minghao chuckled softly. "I see." He said.

Joshua looked at him side-on for a long time. "So, Hannie's finally seduced one of you's, then?" He remarked.

Minghao stared at him, thinking very quickly about what to say, but, he didn't come up with anything.

"I figured it'd have to be one of you's one day." Joshua said, looking down to the floor. The party suddenly fell away from around them, the fire's light lighting up his features in the dark rooms, making the prettiness of them smoulder away gently. Minghao was momentarily transfixed by the sight; he wasn't a man that was left untouched by beauty or art in any and every form. But, that moment later, Minghao wished it was Jeonghan sitting in Joshua's spot so Minghao could see Jeonghan been illuminated like that. "I don't understand why." Joshua had taken a sip of his beer. "It's me who he comes home to everynight..." Joshua's voice grew quieter as he spoke.

Minghao didn't really feel as though he was alive, for the air and the intentness of it around him, the peculiar sort of gentleness even though there was a steady kindness falling away from it piece by piece. The only way Minghao knew he was still really around was the tight line in his stomach, pulling his insides in a crossing.

"Don't go anywhere near him." Joshua said softly, taking another sip of beer. "I'll rip your fucking face apart if you do."

So, that left them in that situation.

Joshua was obviously very much enamoured with Jeonghan and, in a way, the two of them had been settled into a relational existence together for the last three years, living under the same roof, and doing all the things as a living couple or a otherwise committed one would, despite not a concrete declaration of feelings on either Joshua or Jeonghan's part. 

All the while, Minghao was very much in love with Jeonghan and had just been told he'd have his face ripped apart by Joshua if he tried to do anything.

"You need to man up." Mimi told Minghao with a soothing sort of firmness, him in her lap. Mimi only got away with it because she was Welsh and this was what Welsh women did amongst people who weren't their native but could do with a dose of Welsh female cuddliness and support.. "If this was back in the homeland -"

"Would this actually happen back in Wales?" Vernon quipped.

Mimi suddenly became endowed with a expression that could be described as "mercenery".

It was absolutely terrifying.

"We are the only native in the world to have same-sex marriage since time began!" She howled with the depth and growl and bite of a man. the boys hair flew back from the power of her indigenous lungs. "And equality for women - ALWAYS! YOU HALF-GERMAN CUNT WITH YOUR RETARDED COMMENTS!" Mimi picked up a flowerpot and threw it at Vernon.

It hit him in the head.

All the while warfare between the Welsh, Chinese, Korean and half-German races at the magazine's headquarters, Jeonghan was quite peaceful, walking hand in hand with Henreich Greinhart down the street.

I never thought I'd be delighted to be on a German's arm, Jeonghan thought. But when a Kraut's this good-looking - despite the Nazi Grandfather's - why not take them?

That's because you're a fucking traitor and a goody-two-shoes that has no respect for anyone let alone the people who sacrificed their lives to kill those cunts, Joshua and Vernon's voices said in his head nastily. 

"Let's go in here." Jeonghan pointed out a shop in one of the cities streets.

"What is in here?" Henreich asked.

"The people who own it are cunts and I want them to see me with a very handsome, very tall, very muscly, very rich man." Jeonghan explained.

"Oh, yes, now I understand." Henreich chuckled.

"You horrible bitch!" Seungcheol raged at Mimi as Soonyoung held a ice pack against Vernon's head, Wonwoo checked his eye-sight, and, Mingyu and the others worried. Seungcheol, the oldest bar Jeonghan, had taken up position as leader.

Mimi punched him in the face and knocked him cleanly out. 

"I see you sold your house." Henreich said.

Oh, shit, that's right, you don't know that was Minghao's place, do you, mate? Jeonghan thought quickly, remembering.

"Yes, that's right." Jeonghan smiled. "I'm living with a friend for a little while; I've found another property and it's got a month settlement on it so I'll move in then."

"This sounds very nice, Gigi." Heinreich's eyes twinkled charmingly. "You must show me once you decorate."

Over my dead fucking body you Kraut cunt, Jeonghan thought with yet another smile.

Both Vernon and Seungcheol - still unconcious - were taken to the hospital and Mimi, much unbothered by any of the chaos, went back to her shop to do her sewing as she always did. Mingyu, Soonyoung, Seokmin, and Wonwoo went after them in the car but Minghao stayed at the warehouse studios. He gazed up at the ceiling and sighed.

"All's well end's well, I suppose." He mumbled, thinking he ought to bring another couple of bottles of wine to work and stash them somewhere for emergency cases.

Minghao turned on the radio, and, the first thing he heard was Elvis Presely singing "Can't Help Falling In Love".

Minghao got too intent on listening to the song to only think after the song finished, Oh for fuck's sake.

When Jeonghan came back to work to find no one there, Minghao was quick with his tongue to explain:

"Don't fucking ask me, sweetheart, it just happened." Minghao held up his hands in surrender.

Jeonghan sighed heavily, tipping his head back and dropping his handbag to the ground, walking across the studios. Minghao tried to not look too much at how good Jeonghan's body looked in his mid-calve length second-skin-tight black dress with the crew neck and the thee-quart. sleeves with the peter-pan collar in a light cream with tiny green leaves with cherries patterned across it.

And those black stockings and black high-heels had Minghao's mind in a whirl.

Jeonghan's make-up was a bit different with thin-combed arched eyebrows, black smudgy British style eye-makeup that ran beneath his lower lash line attractively with a slash of dark red lipstick. His now black again hair was parted in the centre and combed back into a neat bun the base of his skull where his neck began.

Jeonghan sat down on Minghao's lap and put an arm around his shoulders.

"So, it's just you and me then." Jeonghan murmured.

Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, Minghao thought. 

"You got any grog left?" Jeonghan asked, patting around his breasts for a few moments before swearing. Just as Minghao answered there was no more alcohol left at work, Jeonghan asked him to undo the zip at the back of his dress. 

"My fags and lighter and in my bra and I need to fish 'em out." Jeonghan added.

Fiercely hot and deep bloom pooled in the pit of Minghao's stomach as his fingertips gripped around the zip and slowly pulled it down, revealing Jeonghan's exposed back of neck, the beginning of the lines of his shoulders, and, then, the lacy dark grey strap of his bra with the three hook-eye clasps.

Minghao rather desperately wanted to take it off.

Without really thinking, without really knowing what he was doing, Minghao moved forward that ever so slowly, his lips pressing up against Jeonghan's skin for a moment, one of Minghao's hands on his hips.

"Hao-hao, what are you doing?" Jeonghan asked.

Minghao couldn't helps himself, biting his lower lip sharply for a moment, his hand tightening on Jeonghan's hip, his thumb stroking back and forth over Jeonghan's hip. 

"I love you." Minghao whispered. 

Jeonghan was silent for several long moments. "Hao, let me turn around." Jeonghan said softly, one of his hands coming over Minghao's on his hip. 

Minghao exhaled a long, silent breath onto the skin of Jeonghan's back and, he leant back in his chair at his desk so that Jeonghan could shift around. 

He looked so beautiful.

That's all Minghao could think. Jeonghan looked so beautiful.

On the other side of the city as Joshua drove home from his work in his Leyland Mini, he chuckled softly to himself at the sound of Stevie Nicks on the radio.

"Now, what have you done to get Landslide playing on a Korean radio station?" He murmured to himself, turning up the sound of the radio, the little dial by the bluetooth screen. 

"Oh, I don't know..." The woman's distinctive, burred voice sung.

"Well, I've been..." As Joshua approached a tunnel, the briefest, most distant thought he thought he had ever felt in his life filled up his being. You could always drive into it, the faint voice in the back of his head crooned softly of the approaching tunnel wall. "...afraid of changing 'cause I've built my life around you..." Joshua gazed softly ahead into the distance, the road ahead, the cars surrounding him on the road, all progressing, all going home to lovers, parents, children, husbands, wives, mates...

"But time makes you bolder..."

I'm alright, Joshua thought. I'm going to have a talk to Jeonghan when he gets home

"Children get older

I'm getting older too

So..."

The lilting violin of the instrumental composition of the song filled up the vintage car as it drove along the Korean city roads, one of thousands and thousands and thousands, all going home.

Minghao went against all the rules their little group had made up to cope with the current situation without fucking things up.

"I'm in love with you." He told Jeonghan.

Jeonghan's jaw dropped.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!!!" He complained, but his tone was more of an exasperted, incredulous exclamation than anger intended to sting. "There's a fuckin' list of youse now, you cunts!!!"

Jeonghan shifted up off Minghao's lap, and, he kissed his cheek and collected up his handbag and other things.

"I - Oh, God, I'll see you tomorrow, alright, love?" Jeonghan said to him quickly, and, went to make his leave, but, Minghao got up rom his desk and went over to where he was, catching his arm and then pulling Jeonghan to him.

Minghao had his first proper kiss with Jeonghan, but, was soon seperated from it, not by Jeonghan pushing him away, but, rather, by Jeonghan's knees suddenly going very, very weak.

A second later, Jeonghan was on the ground legs curled to one side, one hand pressed over his flushed, electrically-stinging lips, his other hand held in one of Minghao's as Minghao gazed down at him. 

"Is it the same for you?" Jeonghan whispered, eyes wide, his fingertips touching gently over his still stinging, smouldering hot lips.

"Yeah." Minghao said quietly, a warm light in his eyes, before he crouched down to the ground in front of Jeonghan, close to him, before wrapping his arms around him and pulling him between Minghao's legs. Minghao's hands were on Jeonghan's back, his dress still undone at the back, and, Jeonghan's fingertips curled into the front of Minghao's shirt, his ace tilted upwardly, expectantly to Minghao.

They kissed again, and, Jeonghan's breasts pressing into Minghao's lower torso, he pushed him over until they were on the ground, moving over the top of him. 

Minghao's hands ran down Jeonghan's back to the curves of his hips and backside, and, then back up again. Jeonghan helped with Minghao's hands, pushing his dress down to his waist, freeing the sight of his breasts in the grey lace bra.

Suddenly, the door to their studios open, and, both Jeonghan and Minghao saw clearly over Jeonghan's shoulder the sight of Henreich Greinhart, staring at them.

"OH, SCHIESSE!" Jeonghan howled, getting off Minghao but only managed to get to straddling him in the getting up procedure before Henreich slammed the door shut with a horrifically violent crash, and, his angry footsteps were heard storming away.

Jeonghan scrambled up from Minghao's body, careful not to press down on any sensitive places in the process. Jeonghan slipped his dress back up onto his shoulders, and, he and Minghao looked at each other breathlessly.

"I don't get it." Minghao looked at Jeonghan thin-lipped, hands on his hips.

"Get what?" Jeonghan looked at him, crossing his arms beneath his breasts.

"Why'd you have to say "shit" in German?" Minghao raised his eyes pointedly.

Jeonghan shrugged, his hands raising into the air at the same level of his shoulders, his mouth tilting down so half-moon-shapedly that he had the perfect upside-down-face. "Fuck knows." He answered.

As Jeonghan got a cab home, he wondered if their magazine was still going to get £500,000 a year.

Probably...not.

When Jeonghan first got home, he thought Joshua was either out or was having a really early night. Jeonghan sighed and went through the first wing of the house, down the stairs, then, up the second set of stairs to the second wing of the house where his bedroom was. The room was dark, but, not pitch black. Jeonghan never noticed the person in his otherwise empty bed as he stripped off his high-heels, dress, stockings, knickers and bra. Jeonghan wandered along the hall to the bathroom naked, running a brush through his long hair and washing all the make-up from his face.

Jeonghan climbed into his bed, and, he still didn't notice the second person there now with their pretty, cat-like eyes open, gazing at him tenderly.

"Jeonghan." Joshua whispered, one of his hand's touching Jeonghan's shoulder gently.

Jeonghan jerked violently and let out the loudest, most terrified shriek in his whole life, able to be heard kilometers away. It deafened Joshua and stunned him into a catatonic silence for a few seconds as Jeonghan ripped like the speed of light from his bed and bedroom, raced down the stairs to the staircase at the second wing of the house, took the keys - thankfully, that were still there - and locked the door to the second wing of the house.

But, then, he remember. All his clothes, shoes, jewelry, laptop and phone were still in his room where the burgular was.

Oh my god.

The burglur had just seen him in the nuddy-pants.

Jeonghan shrieked in absolute fury before rushing for the landline to call Mingyu and Wonwoo who lived a five minutes drive away. He howled about what was going on.

"CALL THE POLICE YOU SILLY BITCH!" Mingyu shouted in the background, it having been Wonwoo who had got the phone.

"Jeonghan." Wonwoo's calm, deep voice said. "You are a fucking idiot."

That stopped Jeonghan in his tracks, and, evidently, Mingyu on the other end of the line because in the background all the banging about and crashing stopped.

"How did the burgular know your name, then, you twat?" Wonwoo, ever tactless, remarked. "It's just Shua, you ridiculous twat."

Wonwoo abruptly hung up the line. Jeonghan put the landline phone back in it's cradle and stared down at it aghast.

It was only then did he hear a little voice calling his name.

"Jeonghan, I'm all alone up here." Joshua's voice said.

"Oh my God." Jeonghan whispered to himself before rushing back through the first wing of the house, down the stairs, down the hall, then, up the stairs to the second wing of the house. Jeonghan un-locked the door to find Joshua standing there in his blue sleeping pants and his grey long-sleeved shirt, evidently not really knowing what was going on.

"I...oh, God, I've had a really shit day and then I've just wrecked yours." Jeonghan's hands went to either side of his face, the heels of his palms by his chin. "This is terrible."

Joshua looked up and down Jeonghan's naked body. "You're getting the beginning stages of frost-bite." Joshua pointed at Jeonghan's breasts hardened nipples, which, indeed, were reacting to the cold.

Jeonghan laughed. "Oh my God..." He murmured, huffing hot air onto his hand before rubbing them over his breasts vigoursly. Joshua's eyesbrows shot up so far they nearly disappeared altogether. Jeonghan chuckled. "Oh, this is what us girls have to do in the "no bra" situations." He explained. "Stops you showing."

Joshua barely managed a, "Oh, oh, yes, now I see."

"Why were you in my bed?" Jeonghan asked, crossing his arms over his breasts, each hand curving over his shoulder in a effort to stop flashing poor Josh.

"I...I need to have a chat with you." Joshua answered. 

Jeonghan gazed at Joshua intently and silently for a very long time. "What is it about?" Jeonghan asked softly.

Joshua's eyes slipped in an avertance to the ground.

Jeonghan had his answer then. 

Jeonghan wrapped his arms around Joshua's neck, pulling Joshua in snug and close to him. Joshua lay his head in the crook of Jeonghan's shoulder and neck, and, Jeonghan rested his head against Joshua's, his eyes closing. 

Jeonghan wondered if he was going to kill everything of himself and he and Joshua together - themselves - but telling him about Minghao.

"Come on, darlin', let's go back to bed." Jeonghan said after a few minutes of the two of them just being there together.

Joshua's hand was clasped in Jeonghan's as they walked back up the hallway into Jeonghan's room. As Joshua got back into his bed, Jeonghan went to his closet and pulled on one of his nighties, a modest, cotton one, thinking that wearing one of his nicer ones would well and truly be rubbing poor Josh's face in it. Jeonghan soon slipped back into bed beside Joshua, and, he lay down on Joshua's arm, pressing up into his side.

"Shua, I have to tell you something." Jeonghan said.

"Yeah?" Joshua shifted slightly, his other arm wrapping around Jeonghan's body. They were nearly nose to nose.

"Yeah." Jeonghan swallowed heavily, feeling awful from the pit of his stomach to all the way through his bones. He decided it best just to blurt it out and then just work through it. "Henreich - who still likes me - most likely probably won't be giving us the £500,000 a year anymore because he came in and caught me and Minghao having a snog and the only reason me and Minghao were having a snog was because Minghao just told me that he's in love with me."

Joshua was dead silent for a few seconds. "Did he, now?" Joshua said, remarkably calm.

However, this further emboldened the foolish Jeonghan.

"I haven't realized for a very long time just how much Minghao likes me." Jeonghan told Joshua. "And, then, I've got you tonight and...everything's a disaster."

Joshua sighed, and, he didn't say anymore.

Jeonghan rather automatically understood that it was likely that Joshua was very, very fucking angry. No talking, no smile, no gentle touches, no kisses, no anything.

What have you fucking done? a voice echoed in the back of Jeonghan's head.

"I think you'd better go." Jeonghan said to Joshua. Joshua's movements were stiff and obviously foul-tempered as he moved from Jeonghan's body and then from Jeonghan's bed and then from Jeonghan's bedroom. Joshua didn't shut the door, but, Jeonghan heard Joshua's bedroom door slam shut violently a couple of seconds later.

Jeonghan lay silent and awful in his bed, and, he got out his laptop, putting in his ear-phones and listening for music as long as he needed to, trying to cope with everything.

About an hour after, not bothering with make-up or doing his hair or any of that, Jeonghan shrugged on his jeans, a jumper, and his coat before padding bare-foot silently to the front door where he collected the pair of his red converse sneakers that he wore generally only at weekends, and even that was only sometimes. Jeonghan walked two blocks and hailed a cab, giving Minghao's new address at the old prysbetry with the four acre block he had bought.

Jeonghan had never been to Minghao's new house before, let alone when it was dark, and, there was no out-door lighting.

"Shit." Jeonghan swore, having to get his phone out of his pocket and use it as a light; from the footpath he had to go up a steep stone staircase, but, once he managed that, he was at the pestrybry's huge arched front door, made of beautiful oak wood with sculpted cast iron hinge attachments across the wood of the door.

Jeonghan knocked on the door, and, at first, there was no answer and no sign of life inside, and, as he went to text Minghao, the front door opened.

"Jeonghan?" Minghao said with a degree of shock, dressed in hurriedly put on jeans and a sleeping shirt.

"Can I come in?" Jeonghan asked.

"Yeah." Minghao looked at him before a smile faltered onto his face. "Yes, yes of course, come in."

Jeonghan went up with Minghao to his bedroom, and, he was just too tired to really admire the dark interiors of the yet to be converted prysbetry. They went up to the third floor where Minghao's bedroom was, and, Jeonghan stripped of all his clothes and got into Minghao's bed. He was nearly completely asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but, a mild sense of conciousness stayed around as Minghao got back into his bed, now, with the love of his life beside him.

"Goodnight, Jeonghan." Minghao whispered, his hand touching Jeonghan's hair as the two of them went back to sleep.

The next morning, the consequences of what Jeonghan, Joshua and Minghao had done came into full and vigourous energies.

When Joshua woke up the next morning and had found Jeonghan not at home, he had hit the roof. He had rang the office and had blasted the first person who answered.

In this case, it was poor Seokmin.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!" Joshua had roared.

Poor Seokmin was nearly deafened. Eventually he had been able to tell Joshua - truthfully - that he had no idea.

"SHE'S AT FUCKING MINGHAO'S, ISN'T SHE?!" Joshua had howled before slamming the phone down.

"FUCKING HELL!" Seokmin had shrilly shrieked, standing up on his desk, flapping his arms about wildly. "EVERYONE, WORLD WAR THREE HAS JUST STARTED!!!" 

World War Three was their term for the worst case scenario: the happenings now. 

Everyone immediately started swearing and carrying on. And, amazingly, considering both of them had been on the recieveing ends of her worst temper, both Seungcheol and Vernon shouted for Soonyoung to call for Mimi.

"WE NEED A MENTAL NATIVE BITCH!" Was the hollered reason. 

All the while Joshua was driving like a man possessed to Minghao's prysbetry, Jeonghan had got a cab back to now he and Joshua's empty house so he could get changed and get to work for that day. He wasn't going to pack to move in with Minghao or do anything of the sort. God no. Jeonghan knew he had created a massive problem, and, all massive problems needed to be fixed. 

Especially when massive problems were centered around the ones you loved.

As Jeonghan was changing back at the house and getting his face on, Seungcheol, Seokmin, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon had attempted to climb over the massive bluestone wall around the back of the prysbetry's four acre garden to the main residence, but, in doing so, they had discovered a Victorian security measure.

Broken glass sticking upwards in a solid concrete bed on top of the bluestone wall. 

Soonyoung and Seokmin's eyes had nearly bugged out of their skulls at the sight of it.

"STOP!!!!" They screamed to Mingyu and Vernon below who had been giving them a heft-up. "YOU'LL SODDIN' KILL US!!!"

"Oh, fucking great." The rest of the boys remarked sarcastically down on the ground. Meanwhile, on the other side of the block, Joshua in his Leyland Mini had just pulled up at the curb, and, jogging up Minghao's front steps, he then bashed his fist on the front doors.

"Han -" Minghao began, but, upon seeing the sight of Joshua, all words died in his throat.

"Good, you're here, I want a chat with you." Joshua said harshly, walking Minghao backwards inside as Joshua marched his way in.

Barely five minutes later, Jeonghan came back to Minghao's in a cab, but, as they drove past to the front of the block, Jeonghan saw all his mates around the back of the prysbetry's property.

What the fuck? Jeonghan barely had time to think before he was getting dropped off by the cab at the front of the presbetry. Jeonghan hurriedly gave the cab driver a massive £20 note in his haste to get the cab away from the scene at the sight of Joshua's Leyland Mini only about twenty feet up the road.

Warefare's really on then, Jeonghan thought before jogging around to the back of the property, and, thanking God that he still had his converse trainers on and not his heels. 

"Guys!" Jeonghan shouted, running up to them. He took in the sight of all of them.

"You haven't seen a vintage Aston Martin have you?" Soonyoung inquired.

"No, love, why?" Jeonghan asked quickly.

"It's Mimi's car." Soonyoung answered. "We called her a little while ago to give us a hand but we've seen none of her yet."

Mingyu soothingly put an arm around Jeonghan, and, told him everything. They always thought Joshua had a spectacular soft spot for him, and, all of that had been quite alright. Joshua and Jeonghan had been living together, they were very happy together, there was no negativity in their set-up, no desire to change, so, everything was grand, right? But, ten months ago, Minghao was having more and more trouble coming into work, mainly because he had practically crashed head-first into love, and, love indeed it was with Jeonghan. Mingyu, a close friend to Minghao, had figured out what it was, and, as the other guys had wondered what was going on, it had all got around:

Minghao's in love with Jeonghan. 

But there had always been Joshua, and, even all the guys had thought of why Jeonghan would even consider Minghao when he had Joshua, who, everything was much deeper and older with?

"Now, anything you've heard recently," Vernon jumped in to tell Jeonghan. "Not true. That day when Minghao said about shagging Mimi? Not true. It was just trying to get you off any sort of dangerous topic in case he lost control and spilled, alright?"

Jeonghan was very grateul for the tree-like Mingyu's physical support, because, otherwise, he would have fallen over rather immediately.

"But, then, it would have gone on." Jeonghan said. "For years..."

All of the young men shifted uncomfortably, mumbling things like, "Sort of.", "Yeah, luvvy.", "We come from a good place, weren't tryin' to create an issue, sweetheart."

"Oh, bugger this." Jeonghan dismissed. "Give us a minute."

They watched as Jeonghan walked down the street, and, not very legally took some plywood packing crates from the back of a very large converted restaurant, having once been the local Christian mission school.

Jeonghan stacked them up against the wall so he could have a look. Seokmin warned him about the glass.

"I've been writing about old properties for years, trust me, I know about the glass method." Jeonghan told him soothingly. "Another thing Victorians liked to do was break into people's house through the skylights, so, families would put a rack with spikes up at the nightime so if any robber tried to get in through the skylights, they would be punctured on this rack, right?"

Curiously, all of the boys burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's horrible." Seungcheol chuckled, wiping his eyes.

Jeonghan scoffed incredulously, and, as he went to climb up onto the crates, he found that he couldn't.

"Ah, shit!" He swore under his breath. Jeonghan tried again, but, he knew that he was going to rip the seams if he tired. He wondered if it was advisible to wear a skin-tight moleskin mini-skirt with a black peter-pan collared blouse when you had boyfriend trouble.

Oh, who was he kidding?

That's the perfect thing to wear when you've got boyfriend trouble.

"Right, now I really have seen everything." Vernon said as Jeonghan tucked his too tight skirt into his knickers so he could climb up and see over the prsybetry wall to where Minghao and Joshua may, may not, be having a blue inside.

But most likely were.

"Where the fuck do you get off doing that especially when you fucking know about everything that's going on, right?" Joshua demanded angrily to Minghao.

"It just happened, mate." Minghao said, wanting to calm Joshua down. He really was not a happy chappy.

"How the fuck does it just happen?" Joshua asked bitterly.

"She came over to me and wanted me to get the zip down from her dress so she could get her cigarettes out of her bra, and, then, we started kissing and then that bloody Kraut came in and got the shits. Jeonghan then started swearing - in German no less - and, the Kraut stropped off. Everything stopped and then everybody just went home, everything dissolved..." Minghao sighed hopelessly after doing his best to explain.

Joshua just looked at him, evidently wanting to smack him.

"Oh, fuck this, I'm going around the front." Jeonghan gave up on the crate idea. Wonwoo gathered them to take back to the garden of the restaurant, and, Jeonghan went around to the front of the property.

Jeonghan knocked on the front doors just as Joshua was going to thump the living daylights out of Minghao.

"YOU TWO IDIOTS COME AND ANSWER THE BLOODY DOOR!" Jeonghan yelled when there was intially no immediate response. Seconds later, both Joshua and Minghao threw open the front doors to see him.

"Now you're both behaving like idiots." Jeonghan raised his hands in gesture then let them flopped. "And if you're going to behave like this the pair of youse can go and get fucked, do you understand me?" And, with that, Jeonghan turned on his heel, walking back down with the prsybetry steps with both Minghao and Joshua shouting after him, and, caught yet another cab to work.

Oh, fuck it, I'm rich, what's it matter? Jeonghan later thought as he dished out another set of bank-notes to yet another cabbie.

Two weeks later, things were still pretty vibrant, but, Jeonghan kept a firm lid on it.

With the help of the very lovely Mimi Jones who had torn new arseholes into both Joshua and Minghao. 

Both young men now became hunch-shouldered and subdued in her company.

It left the rest of them agawp while Soonyoung was blissfully proud of his lovely Welshwoman.

"I'm the luckiest man on Earth." He said of the whole ordeal, practically floating.

"If you get married can I be the best man?" Seokmin asked him.

"Don't know what they have with Welsh pagan weddings." Soonyoung said. "Actually, she might not Welsh pagan marry me at all because I'm Korean."

"Bitch." Seokmin stated.

"Nah, it's a native thing, no worries about it." And Soonyoung seemed very un-concerned about it indeed.

All worries about love lifes were soon forgotten when Henreich Greinhart announced that the company that published their magazine was having a Midsummer party at a incredibly expensive but very, very beautiful country estate in the Gyreongsang mountains with also then a special edition launch of the magazine.

They had three weeks to prepare, and, the time flew by. Soon, everything was all accomplished, and, the party started from half five and went until everyone got too drunk and/or too tired.

Minghao came to the bash as apart of the magazine, and, Jeonghan was sure he put Minghao's nose out of joint by inviting Joshua, but, Jeonghan didn't really fancy going to a party unless Joshua was there.\

The place where they were having the party was extroadinairly beautiful. It was a massive and old Edwardian-era country manor home with a classic British interior design and nearly 180 acres of privately owned land that was the definition of Cornwall countryside with planted forests and extensive gardens and a rather sizeable lake with a huge old-world style water-view cottage.

"This must be costing a fucking fortune." Vernon had remarked when it was his turn to read the papers from the head office of what was going on. 

Soon, the Midsummer weekend came, and, they were all in their cars driving up to the mountains. Minghao had offered Jeonghan a drive in his Range Rover, but, instead, Jeonghan chose a drive in black high-heels, dark green velvet mid-calve circle skirt and a grey t-shirt with "MY FACE IS UP THERE" printed in black text on the front, with Joshua in his Leyland Mini.

Joshua was obviously overjoyed at the fact that Jeonghan had chosen him over Minghao. 

But Jeonghan didn't let him have a bit of that rot.

However, Jeonghan did keep his right hand on Joshua's left knee for most of the journey.

Keeping a lid on things didn't mean behaving like an arsehole to very good friends who he had spent a good chunk of his adult life with, had grown up with.

When they arrived at the massive, old-world hotel, after the initial tour and introduction by the manager and the two owners of the property, they all immediately settled in.

Jeonghan could here Soonyoung and Seokmin giggling down the hall, and, soon after, the beating a bodrhum drum soon filled the air.

Since when was Mimi here?

Jeonghan would never forget the sight of when he opened the doors of Seokmin and Soonyoung - and apprently Mimi's also - shared suite. It was forever burnt onto the surface of his bra.

Mimi was bouncing up and down on Seokmin's bed in a black lace pair of 1950's style underwear set with her black hair loose everywhere and a drum the size of a car tyre in one hand while Seokmin jumped about and danced with her, singing something in a language that was not Welsh, something else, and, Soonyoung was filming. They were evidently halfway through packing, clothes and shoes and other belongings spread everywhere.

Jeonghan shrieked and shut the door, getting well out of the way only for Mimi to stop drumming, open the door, fetch him, greet him in Welsh, press her nose and forehead up against his before tucking a rose bloom behind one of his ears and patting him on the backside.

Jeonghan was given a room to himself, a single suite, but, upon inspection, it was possibly the grandest room.

Henreich Greinhart, you cheeky bugger, Jeonghan thought as he inspected the indeed lovely suite. It was the size of the kitchen and the sitting room and Jeonghan's bedroom at the 1930's house in Seoul. The room had a painted sixteen-foot ceiling with a beautiful cast-iron chandelier at the centre of the room. It was split into two stages, though there was no walls; there was the huge double bed with the studded fabric-upholstered frame with a floor to ceiling Welsh blackwood book-shelf on the left side and two equal bedside tables of the same blackwood either side of the bed. The walls of the room were white-washed a pale blue colour with wainstcotting and pretty, elaborate cornicing. There was a huge blackwood trunk cupboard at the base of the bed, and, on from the bed were two chesterfield sofas on a oyster grey shagpile rug with a beautiful coffee table between the sofas. That then went to a beautiful marble fireplace that was at least the size of Joshua's Leyland Mini with two doors either side; one went to the walk-in wardrobe and the other went to the pretty and old-world style en-suite bathroom.

But, yes, Jeonghan thought to himself. This will do very nicely.

With not just their magazine published by the company, but one of several, there were also the staff and creators of six other magazines coming, and, apparently, they themselves had been the most agreeable to deal with; they hadn't complained about sharing rooms like a bunch of pompous hipster prats the other magazine's staff were. 

Joshua and Vernon shared, Seokmin and Soonyoung shared - with the addition of Mimi which not many people knew about -, Mingyu and Wonwoo shared, so, the last couple to be organized was Minghao and Seungcheol sharing.

Wonwoo came down to Jeonghan's room not too long after they arrived. 

"It's Mingyu's brithday not too long after this so when I buy him something can I hide it in here?" Wonwoo asked Jeonghan, getting straight to the point. "When we were driving through the village earlier when we got lost I saw something out the front of the hardware store I know he'll appreciate."

"Shit, what is it?" Jeonghan asked, eyebrows raising. "Like, how many hundred kilograms are we talking?" Jeonghan gestured about. 

Wonwoo blinked. "It's a power drill." He said. "About the size of a shoe-box."

"Oh!" Jeonghan exclaimed. "Oh, thank Christ!" He laughed. "Yeah, of course, no worries." He grinned. 

"Good." Wonwoo expected Jeonghan's room before going over to his fireplace. Wonwoo had a bit of a frown on his face before getting on his hands and knees and looking up the chimney.

"Whatever you do, don't go fiddling with this fire." Wonwoo told Jeonghan as he straightened up. "One, you don't know what to do with it, two, it's blocked and you hear the sound of chirping birds?"

Actually, Jeonghan to admit that he could.

"Yeah, it's because they've got a very large nest in the chimney." Wonwoo pointed up at the ceiling.

Jeonghan's mouth dropped open. "Shouldn't they know about this?" He said of the hotel staff. 

"Shit happens, love." Wonwoo answered sensibly. "And it's the warmer months so the fireplace most likely hasn't been used as such."

As Wonwoo went downstairs to organize the removal of the bird nest, Jeonghan went out to find Seungcheol and asked if he fancied having a walk around the hotel's gardens with him. 

What was intially a half an hour stroll became a four hour trek in vastly inapprioate shoes for Jeonghan but he managed grandly. 

"I want this." Was Jeonghan's decision at the end. "I'll marry Henreich with all his money, he can buy me this place, and, we'll secretly have Minghao and Shua as my toy-boys in one of the SEVEN FUCKING COTTAGES on the Estate."

Seungcheol burst out laughing. "Come on." He said to taking Jeonghan by the hand and the two of them walking back up the long, winding driveway of the hotel, half a kilometer of beautiful tarmac with a forest on one side and a beautifully mown grass valley on the other side before the crush cream-stone of the entrance drive began. "We both need showers and we both need to get our glad-rags on and you need to get your face on."

Half an hour later, they were ready just in time.

The party was held in the hotel's vineyard restaurant, al-fresco dining area, and, the walled courtyard garden at the East wing of the hotel around the swimming pool. Everyone was dressed beautifully, there was heaps of food, heaps of plonk, and, everyone was having a perfectly lovely time.

Unbeknownst to Jeonghan, both Joshua and Minghao had grand plans for him this evening.

Joshua's plan was to make sure that Jeonghan wasn't let alone with Minghao and Minghao's plan was to get Jeonghan to himself, even if it took all night.

The first four hours of the party went by beautifully. All the boys had on nice trousers and evening jackets and clean shirts, and, Jeonghan though he was the best looking set of knickers at the party in a low-cut gypsy style dress with a buttoned fitted bodice and three-quart. bell sleeves with a mid-calve length hem and straw wedge heels with black straps; the dress was black with red roses patterned over it, Jeonghan's beautiful breasts were revealed in the Italian way in a push-up bra - but no nipples - his hair was done in a perfect half-up-half-down beehive and his make-up was classically done.

Bloody lovely in his and everyone else's opinion.

Including Joshua and Minghao's opinions.

Jeonghan danced with all of the boys, and, danced with Henreich, but, on one condition:

Vernon got up and sang "Blinding Light" by The Weeknd.

The whole party started cheering as though they had never cheered before in their lives.

"Oh, no, mate, I can't..." Vernon resisted, anxiety of a crowd getting to him, but, the huge and hairy Germanic hand of Henreich clapped down onto his shoulder and nearly face-planted Vernon into the concrete by the swimming pool.

"Ja, boy, I think you must sing this." Henreich said in a jovial enough tone, but, he had the look of the Nazi in his eyes that otherwise said, "Fucking sing so I can dance with the pretty girl or I kill you, boy, with your slopey eyes".

Nonetheless, Vernon got up onto one of the dining tables - shoes off of course - and, with the help of a instrumental soundtrack from Youtube found by Wonwoo, he set off on it.

"And I said, "Ooo -" Vernon had barely begun the first line and, once more, the crowd starting cheering as though they never had before in their life. Jeonghan took centre stage with with Henreich, and, they began to foxtrot. "I'm blinded by the light. No way I'm sleepin' 'til I feel your touch."

As Jeonghan danced easily and comfortably with the skilled forty-something year old German man, both Minghao and Joshua watched on jealously, thinking about how they could kill that German and then each other so only the one of them could have Jeonghan without the threat of the other one always around. Jeonghan gazed up at Henreich, happy and bright-eyed, a smile on his mouth as Henreich held his hands and shifted them in his own huge, hairy ones, moving the two of them back and forth before Henreich spun Jeonghan in a four-paced circle before sweeping him from his feet.

"I said, "Ooo, I'm drownin' in the night..." Vernon continued swinging as then Henreich lifted Jeonghan above her his in a Strictly Come Dancing worth maneouvre.

"Oh, when I'm like this you're the one I trust..." Vernon finished up the chorus of the song to a much appreciated applause, a drop o anxious sweat sliding down his temple. He got rid of it, running a hand through his hair, and, Seungcheol and Mingyu gave him a hero's lift-off from the table, carrying the half-Anglo man on their shoulders as Seokmin went to get Vernon a massive beer. 

"Ah well." Vernon grinned afterwards, getting a fortifying drink and getting squashed in by Seungcheol, Seokmin, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Joshua, Minghao and Jeonghan, their own little group, in a corner of the alfresco dining area. The night air was cooler than the days, but, it didn't make any of them shiver, and, for the well-danced Jeonghan, it was a relief. He held his cold glass of wine against his exposed decolletage to try and cool himself further, and, the sight of condensation dripping from the grasp down the line of his sizeable cleavage had Minghao and Joshua's eyes on Jeonghan's chest.

Minghao saw his oppotunity to chat to Jeonghan at nearly eleven 'o' clock, just before the party the planned fireworks went to go off; little groups of guests had formed, some people were soaking their legs in the pool, some were dancing - Seokmin, Soonyoung and Mimi had dragged off Seungcheol, Joshua, and Vernon to bust a gut to Tom Jones in the vineyard restaurant because Seokmin's nose was bright red and running from the cool night air and whatever the women descended from Welsh pagan merceneries said went - but, mostly, people were just gently slow dancing or talking and drinking wine.

Minghao took the gentle slow dancing option with Jeonghan, who amazingly, wasn't as opposed to him at that minute as he had been for the last couple of weeks.

"How do you feel right, now?" Minghao asked. "1 been bollocks unhappy and 10 been happy as a clam." Jeonghan smiled up at him tenderly over his choice of words, a bit like Vernon's words; God, that man had a wicked sense of humor, after three years of knowing him Jeonghan still couldn't believe the things that came out of Vernon's mouth. But, Jeonghan didn't allow his inner being to digress too much from the current moment with Minghao, wasting time on past moments before life went down a little bit. 

"Mm..." Jeonghan's mouth settled into a thin, anxious line, as he did genuinely think. "About a 4 quite recently." He told Minghao honestly. 

Minghao gazed down at him. "Why spend life at a 4?" Minghao said softly. "Why not be a 10? Been a 10 is great fun, you know that."

Jeonghan looked at the ground, but, Minghao's next words made him look bolt up-right.

"Been a 4 sucks, Hannie. Come be with me, we'll be a couple of 10's together." Minghao gazed at Jeonghan. "Marry me, Hannie; we'll go somewhere else or we'll stay right here, whever you want. Life's too short to be three numbers away from been bollocks unhappy. I love you, Hannie." Minghao took in Jeonghan's now collapsing expression. "Uh...what about now?" He asked.

"'bout a 2." Jeonghan admitted. "And a half."

"Oh, thank fuck for that half." Minghao exclaimed gently enough, not too boisterous.

Jeonghan chuckled softly, looking down to the ground. 

"Please be naked." Minghao whispered. "And think about it. You don't have to give me an answer straight up. I just want you to be happy."

All of a sudden, the fireworks erupted up into the night sky, brilliant shows of pink and gold and lavender, precisely the moment Jeonghan imagined - just imagined - that, yes, he was married to Minghao, that tell-tale wedding ring on his finger.

"Ok." Jeonghan rested his head in the crook of Minghao's shoulder and neck, and, they continued to dance...and dance...and dance...

Minghao came back to Jeonghan's room, and, they spent the night together without having sex. Jeonghan had found himself admitting that he had purposely got out his "nanna nightie" in case Henreich had popped in. It was a just-below-knee-length and over-sized and relitavely shapeless opaque charcoal cotton nightie with loose three-quart. bell sleeves and a low round neck with buttons on the front with a round edging cut of the same fabric sewn on for some more modest. Minghao had remarked it was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen, and, that had made Jeonghan glow. If he could still be beautiful in a nanna nightie, then, well, that was lovely jubbly.

At a early time the next morning, the dawn having just risen to it's completion, but, the light of the early morning was still opaque and soft. Jeonghan was decided in his mind.

"I never gave you an answer last night, did I?" He said allowed, having turned on the lamp on his bedside table a few minutes before, the smouldering glow filling up the room romantically and moodily. It felt like been in Minghao's old Art Deco Gothic Circus house in the converted munitions factories. Jeonghan lay on Minghao's arm, Minghao's face by his shoulder-blades.

"You didn't have to." Minghao mumbled, waking up. 

"You know, you're right." Jeonghan said. "I don't want to spend life been a 4. I want to be a 10." He turned over in Minghao's arms.

"So, is that a yes, then?" Minghao inquired.

"Yes, it is." Jeonghan said with a smile. "Let's get married."

**Author's Note:**

> Well...I'm going to have to come back and write the wedding now, aren't I? *winking*


End file.
